(Part 1)

The typical story goes like this: A person who’s sleeping finds himself floating out of his physical body. Thinking he might be dead, he panics, shouts for help and struggles to get back to his body.

But nobody hears him, although his spouse or companion is lying asleep beside him on the bed. The more he struggles, the more difficult it is for him to get back. Then he prays and tries to move his toes. He suddenly wakes up.

If this happens to a person for the first time, it will certainly cause panic.

This phenomenon is called astral projection or out-of-body experience (OOBE). I have written on this subject many times before, but it seems more people are experiencing this phenomenon more often now.

The first thing to realize is that OOBE is a natural phenomenon that happens to many people. Therefore it should not be a cause for concern, panic or anxiety.

Why and how does astral projection happen? According to esoteric or occult literature, the human being consists of several layers of interpenetrating bodies with varying vibrations. There are traditionally seven of them, according to this belief. The physical body is the densest, and the spirit the most subtle.

Normally invisible to the naked eye, the astral body can detach itself from the physical body, usually during sleep. This happens to everybody, but they are not aware of it unless they suddenly wake up while going out of the body. That’s when the problem begins.

But going out of our body or astral projection is a very natural and harmless process, and there should be nothing to worry about.

One will surely get back to his body if he does not panic, or struggle to get back. No one has ever died while out of the physical body. He can go anywhere he wants to, even as far as traveling to the moon and other planets.

Silver cord

The astral body is connected to the physical body by an elastic silver cord, which will not break, unless it’s time for the person to die.

The moment the astral body detaches from the physical body, one may hear a soft, popping sound, then he may experience the astral wind enveloping him. He feels very light, like he’s floating, because he is actually floating in the air.

If he looks down, he may see his physical body lying asleep. And if this happens to him for the first time, he may panic and struggle to get back to his physical body.

The problem is, the more he struggles to get back, the more difficult it becomes. The trick is to calm down, relax and he will surely get back to his body smoothly and without much effort.

Science has no explanation for this phenomenon, and many scientists do not believe in the existence of the astral body.

According to an internet post I read: “There is no scientific evidence that there is a consciousness or soul which is separate from normal neural activity or that one can consciously leave the body and make observations. Astral projection has been characterized as a pseudoscience.”

It is obvious that the writer has never experienced astral travel or going out of his body. Therefore, he is talking purely out of ignorance. So let us not bother him.

But those who have experienced conscious OOBE—and I am one of them—are convinced there is such a thing. And there are many reliable, rational and scientific people who have experienced this and have written intensively on the subject.

Among these people are Swiss scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg, French philosopher and novelist Honore de Balzac, engineer Robert Monroe, Oliver Fox, Sylvan Muldoon and Hereward Carrington.

Popular novelist Michael Crichton gave lengthy and detailed explanation of astral projection in his nonfiction book, “Travels.”

Next week: My first OOBE.

Tel. 88107245 or 0998-9886292 for information on seminars, books, past-life regression and consultancy; email jaimetlicauco @yahoo.com